***** ********
MAN-301
June 22nd, 2014
Written Assignment #2

Question #1
"List and discuss the steps in the planning process. Select the one step that you believe is the most important. From your own experience or observation, describe the circumstances where attention to or inattention to this step resulted in success or failure--choose either but not both." (Figure 6.7 - Pg 165)

The steps to the planning process are as follows in the exact order as described originally. The first step is "Setting Objectives" and this step allows management to set goals for the work environment and the employees regardless of the goal being short term or long term. Setting objectives purely integrates aspirations for the future to drive the progression of the company and its employees further. The second step is "Analyzing and Evaluating the Environments" which is the process to planning that allows the reality of the resources available within the work environment to become known so that the limitations become known as well. This step is very important and if one was to archive and create some form of database or collective data source on what is readily at hand that will and can be applied to the "plan" which could be physical resources needed for production, actual employee numbers, types of employees and their special skills, infrastructure in place and any aspect that may be possibly become an asset or liability. Simply knowing all surroundings and creating a proper catalog readily available for management and others of leadership would be a extremely useful resource in pushing forward towards a goal with correct knowledge of what the current values of any situation may be. The third step is "Identifying the Alternatives" which can be understood as Plan B or any other number of alternative plans in case everything does not go quite as planned and the current plan is